Rain and Ice
by This poet
Summary: Darkness; the first thing she can remember. And the cold. It was so cold. He was there, he was always there. But then IT happened and now? Well... now everything's different. And she's not sure she can forgive him
1. Prologue

**A/N: So yeah... another story. Considering how bad I am at updating my singular one, I feel this may have been a bad idea.  
Ah well. The more the merrier huh? Anyway, this was an idea I've been throwing around for a while and although  
** **this chapter isn't the greatest please give it a shot. Please enjoy.  
Rate/review and yeah. Here it goes :)**

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Darkness. The first thing she can remember. An overwhelming dark that seemed to twist it's way into her very soul as if searching for answers. But what answers she didn't know. The second thing was the cold. A bitter, biting cold and the loneliness that accompanied it. This was all she knew and she was afraid. But then… then a bright light appeared above her, a golden beacon of comfort amongst the black of nothingness. She turned her face towards it, bathing in it's glow.

 _Ashleigh  
_

She bolted at the whisper in her head, but the voice gave a chuckle

 _Ashleigh, don't be afraid._

"Who are you?" She called desperately. Another chuckle answered.

 _Who do you think?_ The moon glowed brightly with the words and in spite of herself, Ashleigh let out a rueful smile."Should have guessed."

The moon gave another laugh even as the girl spoke again. "Do you often do this? Speak to people?"

 _No_

"Then wh… why me?"

 _Now's not the time to tell you that._

"What do you mean?"

 _One day you'll understand_

"Do you always speak so cryptically?" There was no answer but Ashleigh felt as if the moon was smiling.

 _You need to get up Ashleigh_

"Get up? Wait.. please… What am I doing here? Is this really all you're telling me?"

 _Yes_ The whisper was faint now, as if it was getting further away and suddenly Ashleigh panicked. "No! Don't leave me… please."

The moon surged a warm glow in response.

 _You aren't alone._

Ashley bit her lip, "Okay…." But as she felt the moon's presence leaving, called out a last question. "Will we talk again?"

 _Of course, I'm always here…._ The whisper died in the wind and Ashleigh felt an oncoming rush of black then nothing.

* * *

The next thing she remembers is a hand on her shoulder and a soft voice coaxing her from the dark. She opened her eyes slowly to see a boy kneeling beside her with a worried expression that cleared as he saw she was awake. He held out a hand to her and gratefully she accepted it, climbing to her feet in the most ungraceful way imaginable but as she finally stood upright, her foot slipped out from under her and she grabbed his neck to balance herself. The boy chuckled. "Careful there, it's a little icy." He gestured to their feet and Ashleigh blinked in confusion as she realised they were standing at the centre of a frozen lake. For the life of her, she couldn't remember how she got there and slowly turned in a circle staring at her surroundings. They were in a forest she realised, noticing the trees circling them, all naked but for the blanket of snow covering them. "Where are we?"

"I don't know…"

His answer startled her out of her thoughts; she hadn't realised she'd thought out loud but now turned to study him. He looked around her age, sixteen, seventeen at most and had shocking white hair that seemed casually mussed as if he ran a hand through it often. His eyes were the most brilliant blue she'd ever seen, like the sky on a cloudless day just after rain. The clothes he wore were odd… grey bottoms and a blue shirt of some sort with a hood and his feet were bare.

"Aren't they cold?" Ashleigh gestured towards his toes and the boy regarded them curiously. "Not really… I never noticed before." He gave a crooked smile before looking back up at her. "By the way, my name's Jack. Nice to meet you."

But that… that was a long time ago….


	2. I

A soft misting rain had set in with twilight, driving whatever people still remained on the streets inside to the warmth. For once the city was quiet, the faint lapping of the Thames the only sound but slowly Big Ben began it's deep call of great melancholy. At it's foot, a girl looked up to see the great hands pointing at the three and she gave a smile. This was her favourite part of the day, when the whole country was sleeping and dawn was just beginning to trace itself in the sky. She scuffed her feet along the footpath before swinging herself up onto the railings of London Bridge, arms stretched out like a tightrope walkers' as she walked along. She breathed in deeply, enjoying the smell of the rain on the concrete and held out a finger to the water droplets.

If a passerby had been able to see her and paid close enough attention, they might have realised that although she was standing out in the middle of the street, she wasn't wet. No; indeed the rain seemed to disappear before it reached her and it was only as she reached out a hand to it that it finally touched her. She let the rain fall through her fingers before holding her palm out flat and suspending the drops above it in mid air. With a smile she twirled and spun her fingers around, watching in delight as the rain danced with her direction and spun into beautiful shapes. She gave another grin and turned her face to the sky, permitting the rain to fall into her hair as she gazed up at the moon.

"Well well old friend, it's nice to see you again. The clouds have kept you hidden this last fortnight."  
 _And whose fault is that?_

Ashleigh smiled, it had been over 300 years since her first conversation with the man in the moon and much had changed since then. Her control over her powers for one. She grinned as she recalled the first couple of months - full of thunderstorms and out-of-season hurricanes, not to mention the many dodgy landings that followed her attempts to fly. It had taken years to learn how to manipulate the wind to carry her places and she had done so under the ever watchful eye of the moon.

"Yeah well, don't blame me for that. You know full well that April is characteristically cloudy… I do have rules to follow you know."  
The moon only glowed cheerfully. _Hmm, and there I was assuming you'd grown tired of little old me and were finding a polite way to tell me to go away.  
_ "Hmph. Maybe I was."

The familiar whisper chuckle sounded in her mind and Ash gave a small smile before sitting down on the edge of the railing, her feet dangling over the river below. The water was bathed in the bright glow of the moon and, catching her reflection in it, Ash gave a cheeky wave.

She'd left her hair loose as she often did and the purple locks were windswept, falling to her shoulders with a slight curl and kick. She loved the colour of it, a reminder of the mightiest storms, when the air was electric and the thunder was so loud it sounded like the Earth was cracking under the pressure. When dark heather lightning battled it's way across the heavens and the whole spectacle was terrifying and beautiful at the same time. On her hands she wore black fingerless gloves and absently she twirled a strand of hair around a finger as she continued to stare into the water. Her clothes changed with the weather, reflecting her mood and the conditions around her and Ash noted with interest that she was currently dressed in knee-length black leggings and a baggy grey jumper that fell off one shoulder. Her feet, as always were bare, but as she caught sight of the left one she curled her lip. The ankle was gnarled and twisted, so much so she now walked with a limp, when she walked at at all. The worst part though, was the colour; a sick black that swallowed the whole joint and stretched to her toes before finally fading to the ivory colour of her skin. Small tendrils of the dark colour also curled their way around her calf, before they too, were snuffed out. It was a permanent reminder of an accident long ago, and she willed herself back to the present, unwilling to reface the horrors of that day.

"Anyway… how's life been with you Manny? Anything interesting going on up there?"  
 _Much the same as it always is, spending my time watching over you spirits and children of the world  
_ "That sounds like fun." Ash spoke sarcastically but she gave a smile again, lying down on the concrete wall, hands behind her head as she gazed upwards.

 _It is. I get to hear every dream and hope. I hear all the mutterings of the world, every whisper, every conversation.  
_

"Huh, well each to their own I suppose. I'd much rather spend my time down here amongst the wind and the rain than up there with only the stars."  
 _Well of course you would_

"What's that supposed to mean?"  
 _It means what it means  
_ Ash shook her head, if there was one thing to be said about her oldest friend it was that he loved to speak in riddles.  
 _There have been more wishes of late_

"Huh?"  
The moon seemed to swell in reply and Ash bit her lip, sensing he was about to tell her something important.  
 _More children have been sending their wishes up to me than usual_

Ashleigh frowned, confused as to why Manny thought this was such a big deal. "Why does that matter? I mean, the last time you got so much attention was '69, maybe there's just been an increase in stories or something?"

Manny gave no reply and Ash felt her sense of foreboding increase, "You think something's wrong. Don't you?"

There was a pause before he spoke again, quieter than normal. _Fear has once again crept back into the world and the children are scared._

Ashleigh sat bolt upright at the words. A fear curdling in her stomach and freezing her veins. "You mean, Pitch? He's back?"  
Once again, there was no reply and as she felt the familiar presence lift from her mind, Ash realised that was all Manny would say tonight. She bit her lip as she thought through his words. If the boogeyman really was back, then she needed the tell someone. Or rather, some people. Without hesitating she jumped to her feet, and in one swift movement, dived off the bridge willing the wind to catch her. It swept her along and up the bank towards St Paul's where she caught the spire gracefully in one hand and pulled herself to a stop, landing lightly on the dome roof. "Wind, take me to the Guardians."

* * *

 **A/N: And another chapter to help kick this off :) I'm on exam leave at the moment - hence by sudden increase in creativity. Procrastination is great :P  
Oh, and of course. I own only Ashleigh - everything else belongs to ... well... not me :(**


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